Indonesia has taken a major step towards bridging the digital divide with the successful launch of the SATRIA communications satellite. The satellite, which was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle from Cape Canaveral in Florida, will provide high-speed internet to thousands of islands in the Indonesian archipelago. With a throughput of 150 Gbps, it will connect schools, hospitals, public buildings, and regional government facilities that are not already connected by existing terrestrial or satellite systems.
The satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo. It is based on the company’s all-electric Spacebus NEO platform and features a fifth-generation digital processor. Thales Alenia Space also supplied two satellite control centers and the mission ground segment for the all-digital payload. In addition, the company has set up a complete training program for SNT engineers who have joined the project team at the company’s facilities in Cannes and Toulouse for the duration of the program.
SATRIA is the first very-high-throughput communications satellite in Indonesia and the most powerful in the South-East Asia region. With a launch mass of 4.6 tons, it will operate in Ka band and be positioned in orbit at 146° E for a design life of 15 years. “I am delighted to see SATRIA successfully launched. This mission will deploy very-high-throughput internet across Indonesia and help to develop the nation’s digital infrastructures,” said Marc-Henri Serre, Thales Alenia Space Executive Vice President, Telecommunications. “After the construction of the Palapa-D and Telkom-3S satellites, the Telkom 3 payload, and the future Telkom 113 satellite, SATRIA confirms our successful partnership with Indonesian operators.”
